New Coaches in 2024-25: Dean Evason, Columbus Blue Jackets

Will Evason finally bring the Blue Jackets some much-needed stability behind the bench?

Since firing long-time head coach John Tortorella in 2021, the Columbus Blue Jackets have not had a coach last more than 164 games. First, it was Brad Larsen, then Mike Babcock (he lasted two and a half months and never coached a game), and finally Pascal Vincent for only a season. Larsen and Vincent didn’t have a lot of success either, combining for a mediocre 89-129-28 record.

This time, the Blue Jackets have done a complete reset of the front office and coaching staff, firing Vincent and Jarmo Kekäläinen and replacing them with Dean Evason and Don Waddell respectively. Blue Jackets fans are hoping this new duo will bring respectability back to the franchise and return the team to at least the days of making the playoffs every year.

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Evason’s Coaching Career Before the Blue Jackets

Before moving behind the bench, Evason had a long career in the NHL spanning 13 seasons and five teams. Drafted 89th overall by the Washington Capitals in 1982, he spent most of his time with the Hartford Whalers where he had two 20-goal seasons and five-straight campaigns with at least 10 goals. After seven seasons in Hartford, he played for the San Jose Sharks (158 games), Dallas Stars (127 games), and Calgary Flames (67 games) before deciding to head overseas to finish his career with EV Landshut in the DEL. He also captained Team Canada at the 1997 World Championship, leading them to a gold medal.

Dean Evason, Columbus Blue Jackets (Photo by Colin Mayr/NHLI via Getty Images)

Evason didn’t take long to enter the coaching world, joining the Calgary Hitmen as an assistant coach in 1998-99. From there, he had stints as the head coach of the Kamloops Blazers (1999-2002) and Vancouver Giants (2002-2004) before moving back to the Hitmen to co-coach the team with GM Kelly Kisio. Throughout his time in the Western Hockey League (WHL), he coached future NHLers Ryan Getzlaf and Andrew Ladd (Hitmen), Gilbert Brule and Cody Franson (Giants), and Erik Christensen and Scottie Upshall (Blazers).

Evason got his first NHL coaching gig in 2005-06 with the Washington Capitals as an assistant coach, a position he held for seven seasons before getting hired by Nashville Predators GM David Poile to take over as head coach of the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals. He spent seven seasons there, developing now-full-time NHLers Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Filip Forsberg, Calle Jarnkrok, Colton Sissons, Kevin Fiala, Viktor Arvidsson, and Jusse Saros, amongst others. Over that time, he was one of the AHL’s top coaches, building up a 242-161-53 record along with two Central Division championships. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it past the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs, finishing with a rather disappointing 3-15 record, and getting swept three times in the process.